The Active Optimist

In this weeks episode, we're getting a little technical. I will be talking all about food's relation to depression, moods, and mental fitness. How does the food we eat effect our mental functions?  One of the many overlooked causes of depression, the food you eat and subsequently the health of your gut must be looked at when building a depression resilient life! I’m simplifying the nutritional science so we all can be intentional in supporting a healthy brain & mental fitness. At the end of the day, we should be eating, not for our waistline, but for the health of our brain!

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

Welcome to episode 10! In this weeks episode, I am doing a bit of a rewind on what the first step to recovery and freedom from depression. I'll be digging into (un)worthiness as the root of all our depressive thoughts and how acceptance can be the antidote to our autopilot of unworthiness. Acceptance of depression is not resignation, it is an active practice, and I share a little bit on how accepting my mental state, suicidal ideation, and depression reversed the downward spiral into an upward one.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!
 

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

In this weeks episode, I am breaking down my thoughts on depression's connection with  body image and body shame. Is there a valid reason to be depressed due to body shame? While I think most people can say that body image contributes to their mental health in general, is there something more here? What does puberty have to do with it? All these questions I talk about & answer in this episode with some snippets of my story growing up feeling super awkward and ashamed of what I did not look like.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!

Questions & Experiences Form click here.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

Welcome to a Process episode, where I showcase one person who on the upward spiral out and away from Depression. This episode is super special - it's the first! I had the honor to sit down with my friend, Kamini, and have a conversation about her experience with depression as a woman growing up, the very real events that subsequently led to depression, and how connection through community, body, and self-understanding helped her move through her rainy seasons.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!

Questions & Experiences Form click here.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

How to implement meaningful values into our anti-depressant life? What is the first block we must move to start a purposeful path to recovery? What values and habits did I prioritize to build a foundation for success that is sustainable? These three questions I will be answering in this episode drawing from own experience and the wealth of knowledge others on living well has given me. I am offering a mind shifts and real life actions you can do today to start your journey in living a sustainable, depressant resilient life by putting what we truly value in the drivers seat.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!

Questions & Experiences Form click here.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

In this weeks episode, I am discussing an explicit psychological cause of depression and one of the most powerful and potentially healing solutions found yet.  I will be talking about how self obsession, a “junk value,”  is perpetuated in our modern society and distracts us from the true connections we need. Next, I want to introduce you to the practice of Sympathetic Joy meditation which is unique in that it relies on thinking outside of ourselves vs conventional meditation's individualist tilt.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them, you can submit them here!

For Study Notes click here.

For a guided Mudita (sympathetic joy) meditation click here.

Questions & Experiences Form click here.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

This week’s episode I am sharing a brief overview of the five biggest myths about depression that continue to persist in the public, unquestioned, and are generally not dispelled by medical practitioners. Thankfully within research circles the pursuit of truth has given us a greater understanding about the complexities of depression. My hope is, through sharing this we can start to ask the harder questions and start demanding a better treatment.

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions, I love them!

For Study Notes click here.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

Today I’m reflecting on my perfectionism and what it has to do with depression. Depression has many faces and one of them, maybe the most common, is a perfectly hidden one. I see perfection as a survival skill, but is it stopping us from getting on the road out of depression? How do we drop the mask without falling apart? And finally, how can we give ourselves permission to have self-compassion and get messy?

THANK YOU, for supporting the podcast, follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or the podcast @subsequentlydepression

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

I recently finished Kelly McGonigal’s book “The Joy of Movement,” which sparked this conversation.  On today’s show, I’m explaining how we can harness movement to bring more joy into our lives, movement as an expression of being human and some helpful tips to get started.  

THANK YOU, for supporting the podcast, follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or the podcast @subsequentlydepression

Check out Kelly’s book on Amazon.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.

Study notes

Sallaberry, C., & Astern, L. (2018) The Endocannabinoid System, Our Universal Regulator. Journal of Young Investigators. 

Stanton, R., & Reaburn, P. (2014) Exercise and the treatment of depression: A review of the exercise program variables. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, pp 177-182, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2013.03.010. 

On today’s show, I’m sharing the first steps towards getting comfortable talking about depression - figuring out “how,” to “who,” and breaking down depression stigma. 

Thank you for supporting the podcast! Follow me on Instagram @irinaerickson or @subsequentlydepression.

The content shared here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified & licensed healthcare provider.